Reviews for Anna Lombard

The average rating for Anna Lombard based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-11-14 00:00:00 Willena Robey In giving Victoria Cross' Anna Lombard four stars, I am faced with at least two problems. The reader will be handed a major dilemma in the form of a horrendous crime and left to decide how that crime colors everything they have read. The author, Annie Sophie Cory, Victoria Cross is one of her pen names, leaves the reader sole responsibility for figuring out how to deal with a lot of things. She writes her story, you deal. And the second problem is that one can admire the twists and turns of the plot, but stylistically she is not an author of great literature. Without going into specifics, this is not family friendly and not for the pre-teen. Not because of four letter words or on-the-page sweaty sex, but … take my word for it. Ms Cory was the daughter of a British Officer from the Raj in India. She would have seen the racial prejudices of imperial colonialism. The book she produced is a huge contrast from others from this generation and experience. Beginning with a very well-worn colonial romance, we are taken, in jarring steps away from expectations. Initially this could have been any number of White Man's world colonial romances. Kipling among others wrote them by the volume. The one that goes: Colonial officer goes native and losses himself 'consorting' with native/half caste wives of convenience. Victoria Cross refuses to write to this expectation. Female sexuality, done absent pornography, is just one part of where and what the reader will navigate.. This review already edges into spoiler territory. The four stars is for what was at the time almost an unprecedented plot. Note that when published, in 1901, Anna Lombard (the female protagonist and the general's daughter) was considered a 'New Woman' and that is only one part of Ms Cross' invention. It was also very widely read and a critical success. Recommended if only because I would like to hear from others about their take.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-03-13 00:00:00 George Horton This book was an assignment for a graduate class on gender & literature. It was my favorite so far from the class. There are a lot of similarities to Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" (one of my favorite novels) but there is an added context of colonialism. The Victorian time period is very intriguing to me, especially after reading this novel. For readers who are interested in concepts of intersectionality (specifically race, gender, and colonial power), this is a very good and quick read.